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Roberts Blossom
| birth_place = New Haven, Connecticut, United States | death_date = July | death_place = Santa Monica, California, United States | occupation = Actor, poet | years_active = 1958-2000 | spouse = Beverly Schmidt Blossom(m.1966-1970; divorced; 2 children), Marilyn Orshan (m.1982; her death) | children = Deborah Blossom Michael Blossom }} Roberts Scott Blossom (March 25, 1924 - July 8, 2011) was an American poet and theater, film, and television actor. He is best known for his roles as Old Man Marley in Home Alone and as Ezra Cobb in the horror film Deranged. He is also remembered for his supporting roles in films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Escape from Alcatraz. Life Youth and education Blossom was born in 1924 in New Haven, Connecticut to John Blossom, an athletic director at Yale University. He was raised in Cleveland but later moved to Shaker Heights, Ohio. He attended Hawken School and graduated from Asheville School in 1941 and attended Harvard University for a year until he joined the Army and served in World War II in Europe. He trained as a therapist and later decided to be an actor, and began directing and acting in productions at Karamu House and The Candlelight Theater in Cleveland and later moved to New York, where he supported himself by bundling feathers for hats and practiced a disputed therapy called Dianetics. He also waited tables until he became a full time actor.Grant Segall, "Roberts Scott Blossom was featured in "Home Alone," on "Another World" and more: news obituary, Cleveland.com, July 11, 2011. Web, Sept. 13, 2011. William Grimes, William (July 12, 2011)"Roberts Blossom, Quirky Character Actor, Dies at 87," New York Times, July 12, 2011. Web, 13 September 13, 2011. Career Blossom began acting on stage during the 1950s. During the 1960s, he formed Filmstage, a multimedia ''avant garde theatrical troupe. His Broadway credits include Ballad of the Sad Cafe and Operation Sidewinder and in 1988 he appeared in Peter Brook's production of The Cherry Orchard. Blossom began appearing on screen in 1958. His first appearance in a feature film was in 1971 with The Hospital. During the seventies he had roles in films including The Great Gatsby, with Robert Redford, Slaughterhouse-Five, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Escape from Alcatraz, with Clint Eastwood. Escape from Alcatraz is perhaps Blossom's best known supporting role for the scene where he chopped off his fingers with an axe.Dye, Kerry Douglas Blossom is remembered for his role as Ezra Cobb in the 1974 horror film Deranged based on American murderer Ed Gein. Blossom is also known for starring in the 1983 horror Christine, a film directed by John Carpenter which is an adaptation of the book by Stephen King. He is best known for his role in the 1990 film Home Alone, in which he played Old Man Marley alongside Macaulay Culkin. He appeared in his final film role in 1995 alongside Sharon Stone and Leonardo DiCaprio in The Quick and The Dead. Blossom's other film credits include Doc Hollywood, Reuben, Reuben, Resurrection, Flashpoint, Vision Quest and Always. Blossom made his first television appearance in 1958 in the television series Naked City. From 1976 to 1978, he starred on the television soap opera Another World, in which his role on the show won him a Soapy Award for Best Villain. His other television credits include Moonlighting, with Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis, Tales from the Darkside, The Equalizer, the revived eighties version of The Twilight Zone and Chicago Hope. His television films include John Brown's Raid, Family Reunion, with Bette Davis, the 1985 version of Noon Wine, Murder in the Heartland and Balloon Farm, which was his final role as an actor. In 2000, Blossom appeared in the biography documentary Full Blossom: The Life of Poet/Actor Roberts Blossom, in which he talked about his life as an actor and poet. The documentary also featured his children Debbie and Michael, his 1st wife Beverly, and Edward Asner, Peter Brook, and Robert Frank. Private life Blossom was formerly married to Beverly Schmidt Blossom, with whom he had a son, Michael. He was later married to Marylin Orshan Blossom, with whom he had a daughter, Deborah Blossom; Marilyn Blossom died in 1982. After Blossom retired from acting in the late 1990s, he moved to Berkeley, California, and spent his time writing poetry,DelVecchio, Rick (April 12, 2003) he later moved to Santa Monica, California where he died. Blossom died on July 8, 2011 at the age of 87 of natural causes. He was living in a nursing home in Santa Monica, California at the time of his death.Eames, Tom (July 13, 2011) Recognition Blossom won 3 Obie Awards for his performances in the off-Broadway plays Village Wooing (1955), which was his debut, Do Not Pass Go (1965) and The Ice Age (1976). Publications Poetry *''Rembrandt''. New York: Mandrill Press, 1962. *''Excusology of the Ocean''. New York: Interim Press, 1964. *''Poems''. New York: Galley, 196-? *''Oh, Look, Gently''. New York: Galley, 1965? *''Party Line''. New York: Print Center, 1978. *''How It is We''. Oakland, CA: Regent Press, 2001. *''River of Wine''. Oakland, CA: Regent Press, 2001. Non-fiction *''Poetic Philosophy in the 21st Century''. Oakland, CA: Regent Press, 2001. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Roberts Blossom, WorldCat,OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, May 6 2014. Audio / video Films Theater credits * 1955: Village Wooing * 1958: The Infernal Machine (Anubis) * 1961: A Cook for Mr. General (Kroy) * 1963: The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (Merlie Ryan) * 1964: The Physicists * 1965: Do Not Pass Go * 1970: Operation Sidewinder * 1973: Statis Quo Vadis (Mr.Elgin) * 1988: The Cherry Orchard See also *List of U.S. poets References External links ;Audio / video *Full Blossom trailer ;Books *Roberts Blossom at Amazon.com ;About *Home Alone, with his words: Retired actor now devotes his time to poetry, San Francisco Chronicle *Full Blossom: The life of poet/actor Roberts Blossom, Variety *''Roberts Blossom dies 87; character played neighbor in 'Home Alone', ''Los Angeles Times *RIP Roberts Blossom at A Wasted Life. *Blossom, 1924-2011: Ballads of Sad, Slight Men * * * *Roberts Blossom at Find a Grave Category:1924 births Category:2011 deaths Category:American film actors Category:American poets Category:American stage actors Category:American soap opera actors Category:Actors from Connecticut Category:People from Berkeley, California Category:People from New Haven, Connecticut Category:Disease-related deaths in California Category:Harvard University alumni Category:People from Shaker Heights, Ohio Category:20th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:Actors